Diver from Bremerton remembered by friends for his love of life

Bremerton man died while collecting clams

BREMERTON - A commercial diver from Bremerton who was found unconscious while harvesting geoduck clams April 29 near Sequim died Sunday at a Seattle hospital.

The King County Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday that Samuel Silverstein, 24, died from anoxic encephalopathy due to drowning. An autopsy was conducted Tuesday. The office ruled Silverstein's death was accidental.

Friends and family have been raising money to offset costs from Silverstein's hospital stay, and a memorial rock show and fundraiser is scheduled for June in Seattle.

The federal agency that oversees workplace safety is investigating.

Silverstein hailed from Tracyton and was a 2008 graduate of Olympic High School. His friends have started a Facebook group to honor him called, "The best guy we know."

Silverstein was known as a strapping, multitalented man with a magnetic personality, renown for his smile and sense of humor. He had played in a local rock band, skateboarded at local parks and had a multitude of friends and acquaintances. He attended Diver's Institute of Technology in Seattle.

One message left on the Facebook group was from a childhood friend who was familiar with Silverstein's spontaneous personality.

"Sam had a beautiful habit of doing the unexpected in a way that made him instantly lovable," the friend wrote. "Even though his time here was tragically short there's no doubt that Sam lived more than most of us could ever hope to."

One of Silverstein's many friends in the music community, Brian Skiffington of Tacoma, said he first met Silverstein in about 2004 when a crew of Bremerton punk rock fans converged on a house party in Tacoma.

Silverstein was in that group, and Skiffington said he was impressed by Silverstein's energy and willingness to put his friends first.

"He was a guy who would go out of his way to help his friends," Skiffington said. "He respected anybody he came across."

Skiffington is helping to arrange the memorial show and a raffle fundraiser at the Vera Project in Seattle, 305 Harrison St. The show is Saturday, June 14, and features several bands. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Silverstein's family is raising money online to help offset costs as well. The GoFundMe campaign has raised nearly $11,000.

Silverstein was diving from the Gold Rush, owned by Further Diving Co. in Olympia. Crew members told investigators with the Clallam County Sheriff's Office that there had been strong currents in the area — about 1½ miles north of Green Point, between Port Angeles and Sequim — and Silverstein said he had become tangled. As the crew radioed for assistance from a state Department of Natural Resources boat at about 9 a.m., Silverstein disappeared under the water.

He was found by the owner of the Gold Rush, who had been diving with Silverstein, unconscious and 50 feet below the water's surface.

U.S. Department of Labor spokesman Jose Carnevali said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating Silverstein's death.

Diving incidents are uncommon compared to other occupational fatalities, but Ken Atha, OSHA's regional administrator said in the statement that on the same day a diver in California was killed while on the job.

Atha also noted that April 28 was Worker Memorial Day.

"This is a sad reminder that our job is not done," Atha said. "Our hearts go out the families of these workers."